We were lucky to catch up with Missy Rogers recently and have shared our conversation below.

Missy, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

Prior to my life as a creative business owner, I considered myself the least craftiest person alive. Like a lot of people, I spent my waking hours working like a zombie with empty purpose just to survive. In 2010, that all changed with my first bipolar episode leading to my admission in a mental health facility for a week. It was the beginning of my full blown episodes and a struggle to fit myself back into a world that didn’t allow for breaks, sick days, and last minute health crises. It was during the next five years while working odd jobs, that I started embracing art and various crafts as therapy. It was something we did a lot in group therapy and it stuck. Beading, soap making, candle making, I did it in my home even when I wasn’t good at it. Early in 2015, a friend told me privately, you know, your jewelry is especially nice-you should really open an Etsy store. So, I did.

Missy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started selling jewelry on Etsy in 2015 not really foreseeing that I would get into farmer’s markets, art shows, and craft shows. When I started selling locally in West Michigan, I realized that my core customer was the person who shops local in their own community. Both locally and on Etsy, my supporters know they will find unique, one of a kind pieces inspired by nature, color, and sustainability. From the beginning I used 100% recycled poly mailers at a greater cost but consideration to the environment is an important value to me and my customers. I also strive hard to use upcycled materials in many of my designs, often buying or being gifted the bead stashes of others. I concentrate on the use of gemstones specifically in my work and use two midwestern companies almost exclusively for new bead purchases. It’s important to me to support other small businesses like my own and I think as a culture, more customers are demanding this type of business model.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think it’s important to value the arts at all stages of life and part of doing that is connecting locals to resources and I think schools are in a unique position to do that by providing field trips, holding art contests, actually having an arts curriculum, and building relationships with museums and galleries. Even if you find yourself in a small town, holding an annual art festival is a great start and provides an opportunity for expression.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

It is tough when you commodify your art for a living. In addition to spending time on other tasks like bookkeeping, you are in a constant position of having to pivot for financial stability. I don’t compromise but last year, I found that when I did less in person markets due to both my disability and the local economic situation, I struggled to pay myself as an artist. By the end of the year, I even told friends and family, this is it, I’m done. I can’t keep going. What I did do was spend more time on my Etsy shop by advertising, improving my photography, and learning more about Etsy tag relevancy, I also put more time into building stronger relationships with my consignment store owners and customers. I made sure this Spring that I had those areas of my business up to par before the craft show season even started.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.missyrosestudios.com
• Instagram: @missyrosestudios
• Facebook: @missyrosestudios
• Twitter: @missyrosestudio

Image Credits

Claire Elizabeth Photography

Missy Rogers